Solink “State of AI in Retail” report: AI adoption surges amid shift from surveillance to video intelligence
Solink® research reveals how AI is transforming retail operations, loss prevention, workforce efficiency, and the customer experience in The State of AI in Retail report.
OTTAWA, ON and NEW YORK at NRF 2026 Retail’s Big Show — January 8, 2026— Solink®, a leader in AI-driven video intelligence, today announced new research, The State of AI in Retail, giving a comprehensive look at how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming retail operations, loss prevention, workforce efficiency, and the customer experience.
“The data is clear: AI is no longer experimental in retail, it’s foundational,” said Michael Scott, CMO, Solink. “Retailers are moving fast to unify video, data, and AI so they can operate more efficiently, reduce loss, and deliver safer, more consistent customer experiences. Solink is proud to help lead that transformation.”
Based on a survey of 150 retail decision-makers across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., the report reveals a sector accelerating rapidly toward full-scale AI deployment with more than 80% of retailers already budgeting for AI and 86% planning to increase spending over the next 12 months.
The report was shared as vendors and retailers gather at New York City’s Javits Convention Center this week for the National Retail Federation 2026 Retail’s Big Show, where AI, automation, and operational optimization are expected to dominate the conversation.
Once treated as an experimental technology, AI is now a proven driver of operational and financial performance. The survey shows that 65% of organizations regularly use generative AI, nearly doubling year-over-year, and that investment is strongest in areas tied to retail’s most pressing challenges: labor shortages, theft, rising operational complexity, and the need for real-time visibility.
Across all retailer sizes, operational efficiency, labor cost reduction, and customer experience emerged as the top three drivers of AI adoption. Mid-size retailers (200–499 locations) show the greatest acceleration, with 100% planning to increase investments in labor optimization and nearly half reporting high confidence in scaling AI across their enterprises. Large retailers (500+ locations) lead in budget commitment but cite governance and internal expertise as primary barriers.
Adoption is expanding across every retail function
This approach is increasingly being implemented across four major retail disciplines—Asset Protection, Operations, IT, and Physical Security—with each group applying it to solve specific business challenges. Asset Protection teams leverage AI to detect fraud patterns and identify anomalies in transactions and store activity. Operations teams use AI to improve demand forecasting, optimize labor deployment, and enhance overall store performance. IT departments apply AI to automate system health monitoring and ensure technology infrastructure remains stable. Physical Security teams rely on AI-driven insights to strengthen situational awareness, accelerate response times, and maintain safer store environments.
However, the report also underscores a growing challenge with AI fragmentation, where teams adopt AI independently without a unified platform or shared data model. This creates a significant opportunity for retailers to streamline tools and modernize their technology stack.
A critical shift from surveillance to vision intelligence
One of the report’s most compelling findings is the industry-wide shift toward vision intelligence, or the use of AI to transform video from a reactive security tool into a real-time operational dataset. Retailers are now using video intelligence to optimize staffing, validate transactions, monitor compliance, accelerate investigations, and improve both employee and customer experiences. These capabilities are especially important for mid-size and enterprise retailers navigating shrink, ORC, and rising operational complexity.
The full State of AI in Retail report is available for download here. Solink will showcase the findings and debut new AI-powered vision intelligence capabilities at NRF 2026, Booth #4066.
About Solink
Solink is the leader in AI-driven video intelligence for security, loss prevention, and operations. By connecting video, data, and operational systems in one platform, Solink helps organizations automatically detect and validate risks, inefficiencies, and key issues in real time. With AI-powered visibility, context-rich insights, and automated workflows, Solink empowers teams to see more, know more, and do more – improving safety, reducing loss, and enhancing performance across every location. Learn more at www.solink.com.
